Sylvain, please send that cold front on down to the Yucatan. I could use a little relief from the heat right now. It is October and we are all ready for lower temps and humidity. It's been very, very hot and humid all this past week with no rain to cool it down. I'm watering every day and if I forget then things start wilting. I'd like a bit of a break from that as well.
WARNING; For every one in the northern Antilles (Caribbean)
Hello everyone,
i haven't been on this thread for a while, and first of all i want to say how sorry i am about your garden Tina. it is heartbreaking to see all the hours of work and time you put into your garden go to waste. i hope most of the plants grow back.
we don't have any volcanoes here at all, thank goodness! they sound scary to me. we do get cyclones, one hit us hard about two years ago, all that was left of my garden was sticks, no leaves. we have had an earthquake or two here before, but not dangerous ones. Tsunamis are probably a risk, though Madagascar does shield us quite a bit.
i hope everything works out for all of you.
Isaac
Hi Isaac.
If you read your last post carefully, you can see that you have started a long list of 'ails' that we have on this earth. We can either face them and do soething about them or turn our backs so they can conquer. I like the first option better, but you have to make yourself strong, and that is always a good thing. Strong hearts/backs/minds'souls/ and even strong love will conquer all. It also infectous to others and will make them rally in a good cause. You seen to be a leader in face of disaster and God will bless you for it. Just keep the faith.
Ol' Granny Hap
Thanks Hap,
this world certainly has a lot of ails. it just seems to be getting worse. i am thankful there is more to life than just this world!
Isaac
Interesting...
Hi Everyone
Was not able to get on yesterday. The volcano was really active yesterday. The ash was continuous. I did not see the sun yesterday except when I went north to get groceries and take care of some other business. It was a very depressing day. Worked all day (in between ashings) digging things up and getting them undercover. Most of my trees are bare which in turn is hurting my shade plants. What a bummer.
But...today was a good day. The volcano calmed down last night and stayed that way all day!!!!!!!! I was able to get tarps up over the shade plants and potted up some more plants, get some of the dead leaves raked up and cut the rest of my plants to the ground. I got to do all this work in the sunshine and no ash (well, except the ash falling out of the trees when a breeze came along). Plus, we got a nice ash free rain lasted about 20 minutes but it was a cleansing rain.
What made it a really good day was while I was walking around assessing the gardens lo and behold my Pride of Barbados the pink one, not a leaf on it, looking deader then a door knob was starting to bloom I have waited 3 years for this thing to bloom, it is one lone bloom but it was there just the same. At a time when I needed it most, it bloomed. I guess that is God's way of telling me everything is going to be ok. Though after the way I was jumping up and down, looking like a total fool, I am not so sure my DH thinks I am ok. I did not care that bloom was like the tree say " I'm ok". It also made me look around, I found a few other plants with buds on them that were not damaged. Made my day. That is when the total fool in me came out and my DH came out..I was telling the volcano "You are not going to win, I am " and I was sticking my tongue out at it and doing a little "happy dance". DH face was comical, He was giving me that look you give someone that you are not sure of their mental state.
Hope tomorrow goes as well but the ash plume is still there just staying to the south so who knows.
Christi..I know the Parks Mall well. My daughter was a teen when lived in Arlington lol.
You are so right about never having a spring or fall. I was so tired of digging everything up in October and planting it all back in April. I wanted to be able to enjoy my tropical plants all year. So we moved here...and now I am digging up all my plants again LOL. Talk about irony!!!!!!
I just want everyone to know how much I appreciate your concern and your good thoughts. I have been going through this for years. Over the last 4 years I have learned what survives and what does not. Most of the plants I have are "ash hardy" the plants I have been digging up are ones that I am not sure about and Do Not want to lose so better safe then sorry. The plants are not doing so good because they were already stress because it has been very dry and hot, the hurricane season has been very quiet so we have not gotten the rains we normally do, My plants will survive and so will I.
I am posting some pictures of May 2006, it was the worst I have ever been through. It was my first volcanic experience and if I could have gotten on a plane I would have. It scare the "shoo-shoo" out of me. Of coarse all the pictures are the aftermath, during the event I was freaking out to much to take pictures.
May 2006
My daughter cleaning up
DH & daughter walking own the driveway.
looking up the driveway
Ash everywhere you look
No, this was not taken with B&W film
The pool
More ash
Omg, eeew....I would never have lasted there with my asthma.
I'm so glad you had some bud sightings to cheer you--wow, determined plants!
This was taken about 3 or 4 weeks later. Everything is green again.
KYWoods... LOL I remember just walking around and the only thing I could say was " Ewww gross"
Tina
OMG!! Incredible! Plus hurricanes... we get hit often by the hurricanes but I'm now very grateful that all the volcanoes are in another part of the country. It is amazing how quickly everything grows back after the big hurricanes, not a leaf in sight one day and a month later it is all green. I guess that is what happens after an ash fall too. But, oh my, what a mess.
I'm glad you had a bloom to cheer you and that you seem to be just doing what you can and not worrying about what you can't. Good for you.
I just read about a hurricane gathering strength on the Pacific coast of Mexico--hope you're not in the danger zone, extranjera!
Oh my God, NO!
Okay, just double checked...extranjera is on the other side of Mexico. The hurricane is still out at sea, and is heading toward the Baja coast, but not expected to make landfall until about Wednesday, when it may only be a category 2.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tropical_weather
Need to start sending prayers for Katiebear she is near Baja.
Tina
Yes, we've had a wonderfully non-eventful hurricane season this year. But, Katiebear is dead in the sights of hurricane Rick. Most of the models have it turning east and hitting the southern portion of the Baja and the west coast of Mexico around Mazatlan. I hope the models are wrong, that often happens. Hurricane prediction is not very good in the long term - more than a day or two in advance. Let's hope they are wrong this time.
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/ep200920.html#a_topad
Yes, I just read her thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1043535/
I'll be praying for her safety. They've had it rough over there!
i hope that hurricane misses katie, they have had a lot of trouble lately there.
glad you see some life coming back, tina!
Isaac
Looking at those pictures of 2006 was really something. But the last one was the best,...the healing of the land. Between that and your little gift from God in the flower must be what keeps you going. I give you a lot of credit.
My gardens, thank God not my house, and the screening around the pool were toast after Wilma. After a week of dragging my garden out to the curb, I finally just collapsed on the ground sobbing thinking all was lost. Well, that was a good lesson for me, for my gardens are better than ever and the pool area is like a spa/country club without the "CAGE". Guess I was the one needing the cleansing.
Take care, my friend and keep looking for the flowers.
Hap
True, sometimes a storm is good for cleansing and renewing.
That is what we need here a really good rain (with out the ash) to wash off all the trees and everything else. Maybe soon.
Hap.. In 2006 I did the same thing sat down and cried, I lost a lot of plants. Now I know what to do to help them survive. Every day and everything we go through in life is a learning experience.
Tina
Please God, please don't make me learn anything else!!
LOL, Hap!
I have a friend who uses this line as his signature:
Oh no .... not another learning experience
LOL Hap..I have said that waaaaaaaaaay more then once.
LOL extranjera..he has the right idea.
Tina
as unpleasant as some experiences are, it is for our own good. at the time we just don't usually know it.
That's for sure, Issac.
I agree Isaac, I think my lesson is not so much learning as teaching. We have a lot of "new" people in the area who have never been through this. Maybe I am suppose to help people know what to do and help them to not panic. I remember the first event I went through here is what I wrote after wards:
This was written about 2 weeks after the May 20, 2006 dome collapse
Well, it finally happened, Ol' Smokey blew his top. The dome collapsed on Saturday morning. It also came in the middle of a tropical downpour. It was a major mess. It was very scary, yet awesome at the same time. It came in 3 phases. Phase 1 was not so bad, it was yucky but it would have been easy to clean up. I remember think, "This is what all the fuss was about.. "Big deal" Boy was I in for a really big shock. Phase 2 was a little worse than the first one. The sky looked really weird. We were thinking ok this still is not to bad. Bill was taking it all in stride. Me? I was starting to panic a little because it was really gross and smelly and was turning everything brown. Not only that the water coming down the Bellham (right below us) was coming fast and hard. The whole episode seemed like it was never going to stop. Then we heard this rumble and loud exploding sound that I thought was thunder, I looked toward the volcano and above us and you could see it coming, this BIG BLACK cloud that was surrounding us. I was thinking OOOOHHH MMMYYY GGGGOOODD Then it hit, we got ashed, It was about 6 or 7 in the morning and looked like it was midnight. It went pitch black. You could see the ash swirling around you, but you could not see a foot in front of you. Then this black goo started coming off the roof. It was like thick melted chocolate that hardened as soon as it hit the ground. I had a squeegee and thought I would push it off the veranda as it came in, WRONG. I pushed the squeegee and it came to a dead stop as soon as I hit the black goo, then I almost fell into the stuff from the impact. That is when I came unglued, majorly. If I could have gotten on a plane at that moment I would have came back to Texas. It was sssoooooooo gross. Then the rocks came, they were hitting the house, it was like a Texas hail storm only worse. That is when I went into all out panic mode. You could hear the water coming harder. Bill was just sitting there calmly watching it all, then he had the NERVE to tell me to "calm down, it will be over soon" What is he nuts, does he not see what is happening? What a jerk (of course that is not what I was calling him at the time..use your imagination). You could not see nothing, it sounded like the water was coming at us, there was this black smelly goo coming off the roof onto the veranda and it was hardening as soon as it hit the ground, it sounded like someone was shooting at the house, not to mention the loud thundering noises coming from somewhere behind the house and he was telling me to calm down, I DON'T THINK SO. If there was a time to panic this was it! I thought I was in a war zone. I worked myself into an absolute, major, in your face, no denying Panic!!!
The ash cloud blew over (after what seemed like hours) and the sky cleared enough for us to see, that is when I was dumbstruck. What a mess. We watched boulders the size of Volkswagens skip across the rushing water, logs (and whole trees) were going by in the water. It was below us but never reached our property, Thank the Lord. What a mess. Yes, I sat down and cried. The whole scene looked like a black and white movie. It was so strange. It washed out our road. Walking around I was just speechless. I remember thinking a stupid thought " I think something major just happened". We got anywhere from 3inches to 1 foot of ash dumped on us. Not a leaf on the trees, all the plants were laid to the ground by the weight of the wet ash, some looked like they had melted, everything was grey and the smell was over whelming. The scene was over whelming. We would never get this cleaned up. Total destruction. So I just sat down and cried.
A friend called to make sure we were alright, she told me it will clean up and everything will get back to normal. Needless to say, I did not believe her.
When the first good rain comes (which is suppose to be this weekend) it will wash all the ash out of the trees, the property and off the roads. The clean up crew we hired has gotten most the property around the house (pool deck, patio, walkways, etc.) cleaned up. So by next week the house will be back to normal, and in a months time everything will be green again.
But the absolute best thing is; it was a complete collapse so that means NO MORE ASH! I can clean my house and it will stay clean! My kitchen will be clean, the living room will be clean, my bedroom will be clean, Danielle's room will be.... Oh well you can't win them all. We will not have to worry about another dome building for a long time. Because it was a 100% collapse.
All in all, we came out pretty lucky. No one was hurt. It really could have been worse (or so that is what everyone tells me). Seeing this was my first volcano episode, I think it was bad enough.
Ya'll have a great day
Tina
Tina,
What a story. Does it seem remotely amusing now? What I mean is you reaction vs your husbands? That is what always happens here and if I had a gun...........
Hap
Hi.
Tina, you depict a horrific scene in the most rivetting way. Thanks ever so much for sharing this with us.
The same scenario would have played out at our house. My wife would have made herself sick during the event, whereas I would have taken it all in stride keeping my energy for the aftermat. That's the way the Canadian Coast Guard trained me. I am often thankful for that.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
I hope no Vietnam or other war vets live around there...can you imagine?
tb when I was watering last night I thought I smelled sulphur, but DH disagreed, did you have ashfall last night? If you want either the yellow or red pride of Barbados let me know and I will send seeds. do you ever come over to Antigua? I remember how your lovely island looked after hurricane Hugo, way worse, I know that does not really help you now, but it can always be worse!
Hap - Yes I do find my reaction amusing now. Sure was not funny then.
Sylvain - sounds like my house, any event I am the one that gets overly excited and my DH is the one that get under excited (in my opinion) LOL. Military trained him that away. He was in the Navy for 30 years plus (much worse in my opinion) he is a Doctor of Psychology. He always tries to analyze me when I am in a full blown panic, really not good for his health.
KYWoods - He is a Vietnam Vet, he is Navy but was a Medic with the Marine Corp. while in Vietnam.
cocoloba - You probably did smell sulfur last night, the volcano was steaming and gassing all night. So you can tell DH he was wrong and YOU were right HaHa. Believe me I know that all this could be a lot worse, I go over and look at Plymouth to remember how much worse it could be.
Thanks for the offer of the seeds, I have the yellow, red, orange and pink. I think they are so pretty. They look dead right now but they will come back. My plumeria has already gotten new leaves.
I come to Antigua once or twice a year, if we get the ferry it will be more then that. Winair is to unreliable and too expensive, I do shopping there and trying to get stuff on the little plane is too much of a hassle. I have to worry about weight limits which is a pain.
Have a Good Night
Tina
Tina, i couldn't help but smile, it is quite amusing. but i can just imagine how scary it must have been. i would have paniced as well, so don't feel bad. i have a tendency to overreact. we have a saying here, 'i make an elephant out of an ant.'
our safety isn't garaunteed no matter where we live, any place has its dangers. i hope you stay safe there, and that your garden recovers well.
Isaac
Isaac
My saying is "making a mountain out of a mole hill". Thought I will say this for myself, medical emergencies I stay calm and do real well in assessing the situation and doing what needs to be done. But put me in a nature disaster and I panic, my DH says it is because I do not have control of what happens, which is true. If I can control the situation I am ok. Any situation that I do not know the outcome I panic.
My gardens a going to be fine, in fact I have a lot of things that are planted in the wrong place so I am taking this time to move things around. DH hates when I do this cause he is the one that usually has to do the digging and I can blame him if something does not come back, my reasoning is he dug it up wrong. LOL Keeps me from feeling guilty for not leaving it were it was (It is a woman thing LOL)
Have a great day
Tina